Hey guys. I know that it's been a very long time since I've done absolutely anything here. If you're looking for more information about my other stories, it's on my updated profile. I've been extremely busy, but I finally found time to actually write this story up. This was supposed to be an entry to Metamorcy's Fon27 contest that was held... a very long time ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it, even with the deadline extension.

This is going to stay a one shot for sure. It's just how I feel about it. Also, I had to do a little research about what happens during cases of child head trauma, and even then, I only focused on the consequences and possibilities of a single, unique case (well, maybe not so unique with the world's population).

As always, please notify me of any type of mistake. I'll be sure to consider/fix any errors I made.

Head Trauma

"Ipin…"

"No! I hate broccoli!"

A man with strong oriental features sighed. He brought a hand to rub his aching temple and stared sternly at the five year old girl in front of him. What on Earth was wrong with broccoli? She could eat cauliflower without qualms but not broccoli? Surely there wasn't that much of a difference between the two vegetables.

"Ipin, please…?" he pleaded with Ipin again, and ignored the snickers of his friend, who was clad in a black suit and an orange banded fedora.

The girl, who was chewing on the end of her braided hair, wavered for a second at his earnest plea before stoutly folding her arms and looking away. "No."

"Nice try, Fon," the man in the suit said, a smirk unfurling across his face.

Fon frowned, annoyed by how much pleasure the other was gaining from his unsolved predicament. "Zip it, Reborn. Your coffee is done so why don't you leave?"

"Oh my, being rude to a customer? It's a wonder you can keep this place running with those mannerisms," Reborn remarked with his trademark grin as his hands secured a lid on his coffee cup.

A hostile smile graced Fon's face. "I'm not rude to everyone- just you. Besides, the coffee is great here."

The man with the fedora snorted. "Whatever. Good luck getting the egghead to eat that morsel of rabbit food." He checked his expensive looking watch and smirked devilishly. "I have someone to punish for being late anyway." Reborn headed out the front door and waved goodbye without looking back.

One problem solved, another one to go… Fon sighed again and began to clear the dish with a resigned air. He wasn't going to force his little sister to eat broccoli if she didn't want to. Hopefully, given some time, she would come to at least grudgingly accept the nutritional value of the little vegetable. He watched with amusement as Ipin's face suddenly became elated now that the broccoli was gone. Humming, Fon tasked himself to cleaning the espresso and coffee-grinding machines before locking up the shop and heading home.

Fon owned a coffee shop. It was rather quaint and small with a homey ambiance. Even though he had enough money to finance a chain or two elsewhere, he preferred running only one coffee shop. Inexplicably, he felt as if a vital piece of the shop would be lost if it was expanded so he decided not to.

The coffee he produced was to die for. At least, according to interesting testimonies he had received from customers over the years. He also collaborated with the local and best bakery in Namimori, which was run by two sweet, young ladies named Sasagawa Kyoko and Miura Haru. Fon sold the girls' small and delicious, but affordable, cakes to accompany the coffee. Of course, his dashing looks and impeccable manners only helped business swell even more.

"Ipin, would you mind locking the front door please?" Fon asked, checking the amount of bleach present in the sink water. Satisfied with the dark purple color of the litmus strip, he threw it away proceeded to turn the ice machine off.

"Okay!" came the high pitched reply. The soft patter of footsteps soon followed as the child ran towards the door to close and lock it. Ipin managed to close the door, but unfortunately couldn't reach the lock. She dragged over a chair and stood upon it, the tips of her fingers reaching for the lock. Before she could accomplish her task, however, the door swung open abruptly and violently, and knocked Ipin off of the chair.

Fon paused as he heard a soft thump and a rough squeal, and rushed out of the kitchen area. He paused again upon spotting his sister and the newcomer. The newcomer appeared to be around Ipin's age and was oddly dressed in a cow-print, full body suit with two yellow horns sticking out of a tangled afro. He also seemed to be crying, judging by the amount of mucus dripping from his nose.

Ipin picked herself up from the floor and turned to face the rude person who had toppled her over. As soon as she spotted her assaulter, she screamed in absolute horror.

"BROCCOLI MONSTER!" she shrieked and then proceeded to attack her broccoli monster with her rudimentary knowledge of martial arts.

The other child screamed when the hits landed and ran away from Ipin, who screamed some more.

For once, Fon was at a complete loss concerning what to do. So he just stood there, surveying the children running around while trying to come up with a way to stop the bedlam. He noticed the door swing open again and all of his attention was diverted from the rampaging children to the new stranger.

A young man with spiky brown hair and matching colored eyes hastily stormed in. He wore black dress pants and a crisp, white button-up shirt. He also had a plain black tie that hung loosely around his neck. His eyes frantically scanned the room until they landed upon the pair of shouting children.

"LAMBO!" the man hollered, making his way towards the cow-print child now known as Lambo.

Lambo abruptly stopped running and turned around when he heard his name being called by a familiar voice, causing Ipin to crash right into him. Both were sent tumbling towards Fon's coveted set of Chinese dishes by the force of the collision.

Fon's eyes widened as he saw what was about to happen. Quickly, he sprinted over and picked the panicked children up, holding one in each hand. He sighed in relief as his dishes were safe from being broken into millions of fragments, unable to be repaired. Fon heard sniffing noises and glanced at Lambo, who had snot and tears streaming down his face.

"T-Tsuna, I c-can't hold it in," Lambo mumbled with his green eyes wide and hands between his legs.

Fon looked towards the man named Tsuna and lifted an eyebrow when he noticed Tsuna's eyes also comically widen in realization. He flinched as Tsuna lurched forward, grabbed Lambo by the back of his cow print suit, and practically hurled him into the bathroom, shutting the door with a loud bang.

With her broccoli monster gone, Ipin calmed down and struggled to be back on the floor. Fon gently set her on the ground and stared at Tsuna with a puzzled frown as the brunette sunk to the floor, with his back to the bathroom door, in exasperation and exhaustion.

"S-Sorry about all of that, eheh," Tsuna apologized, grinning sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "Lambo never goes to the bathroom until the very last moment possible for some unknown reason."

Fon smiled warmly at the young man. Well, there was no harm done. "No worries, it's not a problem," Fon replied, waving his hand as if he were swatting the event away. "My name is Fon. Nice to meet you… uh?"

"Tsuna," answered the brunette with a happy smile.

"Ah, Tsuna."

There was an awkward silence as neither really knew what to say in such a strange encounter. Tsuna timidly stood up and looked around the quaint coffee shop.

"Is this… a coffee shop by chance?" Tsuna asked, his eyes roaming over the grinder, syrups, and espresso machine neatly arranged behind the counter. He hadn't paid any attention to the name or type of shop he saw Lambo run into.

"Yes, we specialize in dark roast coffee as well as latte art and small cakes," Fon answered, looking at the newcomer named Tsuna. He was surprised when Tsuna jumped with evident glee and almost teleported to the cash register.

"Great! I never knew there was a coffee shop so close to where I work," Tsuna exclaimed, glowing with happiness. "I'll take a triple shot espresso, short pull, with macchiato and caramel on top to go please."

The coffee shop owner blinked at the order. "That's rather strong," he commented as he punched the order into the register.

Tsuna gave Fon an uncharacteristic wolfish grin. "That's nothing. My co-worker can easily down five shots, but he's half Italian and I suppose that counts for something. Anyway, when you're in my profession, you just have to live on coffee," he said, handing over the exact amount of change.

"And your profession would be…?" Fon asked, lowering his voice as he set the money into the register. His eyes never broke the steady contact with Tsuna's.

Tsuna leaned in to hear Fon better as he replied, "I work in the emergency unit at Namimori's Children Hospital," he almost whispered, staring into Fon's face. "More specifically, I work with the brain trauma cases."

The two leaned forward even further, their lips only inches apart. The sound of a toilet flushing and a door being unceremoniously slammed open jerked both of them out of their trance. Tsuna leaned back, slightly blushing as he became aware of the situation while Fon removed his arms from the counter, smirking at his new customer.

Tsuna shyly watched Fon as the coffee shop owner bustled around to fulfill Tsuna's order. The brunette tuned out Lambo and Ipin verbally fighting in the background and focused on the man's pale and slender hands elegantly tamping the ground espresso and steaming the two percent milk. The brunette found his mouth watering in anticipation as a thin layer of macchiato, with microscopic bubbles so small that the foam looked creamy, was gently poured onto the top of his espresso and imprinted on with a thin tube a caramel. He continued to stare at it as Fon placed it on top of the counter with practiced expertise. It looked far too sublime to eat, almost like it was far superior than his blunt taste buds.

Fon chuckled as he watched an almost drooling Tsuna stare transfixed at the drink in the foam cup before him. He decided that he like Tsuna a lot more than most of his other regular customers: Verde who wanted coffee for all-nighters doing research, Aria to keep up with her energetic kid, Skull before a car race, Reborn after whatever it was he did, and Viper to stay up late at night scheming nasty plots to earn more money. Fon had a strong suspicion that Lal Mirch and Colonello dropped by for coffee just for the sake of bickering and spending time together at the same time, but he wasn't going to confirm his suspicion and risk being attacked by a very embarrassed Lal.

Fon placed both of his elbows on the counter and leaned forward. "It's okay to drink it, you know," he teased, smiling at Tsuna. "If you don't, it'll go cold and then it'll be a waste. Reheated coffee is a large no-no here."

"B-But…" Tsuna mumbled, still staring at the coffee. His eyes were wide with awe. "It's… It's godly!" Fon blinked in astonishment at the compliment. "Everything about it is perfect! The espresso pull, the macchiato- even the caramel is unblemished! I've never seen a more perfect example of coffee so I don't want to ruin its sanctity by even touching it." The brunette then grabbed both of Fon's hands and closely scrutinized them. "Are your hands possessed by the coffee God?"

The black haired man blinked. And then blinked again at Tsuna's confession before he burst out in jolly laughter.

Tsuna tore his gaze away from the pair of hands and stared at Fon, horrified that he had said all of that out loud. A healthy shade of red splattered across his cheeks as he stood completely petrified next to the caffeinated drink and a laughing Fon. Realizing that he was still holding Fon's hands, Tsuna instantly released them, his hands flailing in the air as if they had been scalded by hot water.

Still chuckling, Fon gently slid the coffee a couple of inches towards Tsuna. "Drink it, Tsuna," he encouraged heartily. "You paid for it, so there's absolutely no reason you shouldn't drink it. It's yours. Besides," he added with a playful wink, "I'll always be here to make you another cup of a triple shot espresso, short pulled, with macchiato and caramel on top anytime you want."

The brunette tensely nodded, still flushing. His hand gingerly gripped the cup of coffee and raised it to his lips. His lips were hesitant about accepting the cup, but after a quick glance at Fon, he took a small sip.

He groaned as rich flavor crashed in waves through his entire body. So what if caffeine was a mind altering substance? At least it didn't cause car accidents and it was far too good for anyone to give up. Tsuna resisted chugging the entire thing, reminding himself of the proper way to savor something. He licked the machiatto off of the top of his lip and grinned at Fon.

"It's really good!" the brunette praised as he brought the cup up for another sip.

Fon smiled at Tsuna's earnest review. "I'm glad that you like it."

"Dame-Tsuna, I'm late," a whinny cry came from below the counter, next to Tsuna.

Tsuna nearly spluttered out his coffee as his mind jolted to his mental agenda for the day. He completely forgot! Lambo was supposed to be at kindergarten fifteen minutes ago. After that, he was supposed to hustle his butt to Reborn's house to plan a surprise party for Fuuta, who was graduating middle school. Finally, he had to rush back to the Emergency Room before his pager crashed from an overload of messages or before Gokudera began to think that he had been hurt or kidnapped or both.

What he was truly afraid of though, was being late when Reborn had specifically said 8 o'clock sharp.

Tsuna checked his watch once more just to make sure his fate was sealed. Yep, it said 8:15 a.m.

"Dammit!" the brunette swore as he quickly threw a lid on the coffee cup and picked up Lambo by the waist with one hand. "I'm late and Reborn's going to kill me, so I'll see you later Fon! Thanks for the great coffee!" he gushed as he raced through the front door and jumped into his car.

Fon and Ipin blinked simultaneously. By the time their eyes opened again, Tsuna and Lambo were completely gone from the premises.

"Did he just mention Reborn?"

Days easily collapsed into weeks. The weeks easily accumulated into months. Six months passed since the first time Tsuna ran into Fon's coffee shop chasing after Lambo. Almost every single morning after that event, Tsuna had dropped by to buy a cup of coffee.

Fon was honestly glad to have met Tsuna. The brunette somehow always managed to brighten up his day, whether it is by a cute mannerism or a simple conversation. He found that he looked forward to seeing Tsuna in the morning and had a profound sense of disappointment whenever the brunette didn't show up.

They learned quite a bit about each other during the time that elapsed between the two. Fon learned that Lambo was an orphan and was adopted into Tsuna's family. He discovered Tsuna's connection to Reborn, Haru, Kyoko, and even his younger brother, Kyouya. Tsuna like the color orange and staring at the clear blue sky every now and then. He had a tendency to become frightened quite easily, but never backed down when it really counted, which was why he had so many true friends surrounding him.

Tsuna learned that Ipin is Fon's little sister by another woman other than Fon's mother. Ipin wasn't treated like an outsider, however, and was welcomed into the Hibari family with open arms. He learned that Fon and Reborn were part of a group called the Arcobaleno in their university days. Fon adored the burning color of red and trained in various martial art styles in his free time. He was usually calm, but did become riled up every once in a while, which was the reason he was so respected.

One particular morning, Tsuna dropped by, as usual, with Lambo for another cup of coffee.

"I'll take my usual, Fon," Tsuna said, smiling sweetly at the taller male.

"What, no good morning kiss?" Fon joked, causing Tsuna to stagger backwards and flush.

"Th-That's…!" the brunette stammered, trailing off as he was unable to speak.

Fon chuckled good-naturedly as Lambo ran over to Ipin. He set about making Tsuna's normal order- triple shots of espresso, short pulled, with machiatto and caramel on top. With his back turned, he smiled nostalgically as he remembered the first time they met with vibrant clarity. The first drink Tsuna had ordered became his usual drink. His smile grew as he listened to Tsuna refereeing Lambo and Ipin while they played a game.

"Lambo, you can't do that. You should be nicer to Ipin and follow the rules, or else I won't bring you with me anymore," Tsuna scolded as Lambo grew fed up with playing Candyland and just moved his figure to the end.

Lambo's eyes watered at the threat and his lips twisted into a fierce pout. "Oh yeah? Well the great Lambo-sama doesn't need you guys anyway!" The small boy in the cow-print suit ran towards the entrance, upsetting the board game in the process.

"Lambo, wait!" Ipin cried and immediately sprang up from her seat to give chase.

"No!" Lambo stubbornly wailed as he pushed the glass door open and sprinted away even faster.

Tsuna's eyes grew wide as Lambo recklessly ran outside. "Lambo, come back this instant! It's dangerous to run in the street!" he hollered, taking off after the two children.

Fon stopped what he was doing and set the cup of espresso down. His face expressed a worried frown as he witnessed the three scramble outside. However, staying true to his nature, he calmly began to walk to the entrance and exit onto the sidewalk.

The first thing he heard was the horrifying screech of tires on asphalt.

The second thing he heard was Tsuna's scream.

And Fon froze.

By some bizarre miracle, Lambo had been able to cross the street completely unscathed.

Ipin wasn't as lucky.

Fon couldn't move as he watched everything that happened. His muscles wouldn't budge an inch when Tsuna ran out towards the middle of the street, waving his arms maniacally to stop oncoming traffic. No matter how many times his brain ordered his muscles to move, they wouldn't, even as the offending driver nearly tore the car door open in his haste to exit and babble apology after apology to a kneeling Tsuna. Fon could only stand as still as a statue as his eyes drank the deep red that drenched the black asphalt and a small, battered body that limply littered the street.

He couldn't move.

Tsuna muttered curses under his breath as he chased the children. Lambo really needed to grow up. His habit of throwing a tantrum and then forgetting basic safety rules, in other words, common sense, was extremely dangerous.

"Lambo, STOP!" Tsuna shouted as Lambo ran out into the street. His brown eyes widened with adrenaline and panic as he could only watch Lambo impersonate Frogger as he precariously ran past cars.

And then he saw Ipin cross the street too.

"Ipin, NO!"

Quite contrary to movies, everything didn't happen in slow motion. Everything happened at normal speed. The only difference was the amount of detail and clarity. Tsuna, with his hand uselessly outstretched, saw the driver's horrified expression as he caught sight of a small child in the middle of the road. He heard the deafening noise of brakes being slammed. He saw Ipin's head turn only to see the expanse of the white bumper of the oncoming car make contact. He saw her body soar through the air as the car's momentum transferred and saw it land with a sickening, but final, thud.

He saw everything.

And then he saw Lambo's face filled with panic as he turned around.

That was when Tsuna went into doctor mode.

The brunette rushed into the street without care as cars in both directions were slowing down. He waved his hands and made stopping motions as he raced to Ipin's body. Tsuna knew that every second counted and he was going to make sure that not a single second went to waste. Carefully, he knelt down next to Ipin and with great circumspect and did everything that he could without causing more damage. Tsuna waved off the driver of the offending car and deftly pulled out a cell phone. His fingers tapped the number keys five and nine as fast as lightning without assistance from his eyes and hit the button for speed dial.

"Jyuudaime?" asked a gruff voice before the first ring had even ended.

"Gokudera-kun, I need you and Yamamoto to get down to 25th Street and Verity Avenue; it's an emergency," Tsuna ordered into his phone, his eyes never wavering from the child in front of him. "I want Basil and Chrome on standby. Prepare the tube to measure ICP as well."

"We'll be there," Gokudera answered immediately, recognizing Tsuna's serious voice. "Hey, baseball idiot! We've got an emergency from-"

Tsuna ended the call, not needing to hear any further. Seconds ticked away into minutes and a crowd began to gather on both sides of the sidewalk. Somehow though, no one seemed to rush to help or impede. No one even had a cell phone to call 911 with.

They just stood there.

The brunette absent-mindedly noted that the bystander effect seemed to be impacting more people. He snapped back to attention, however, when he heard a choked sob right next to him. Tsuna turned his eyes down and felt his heart clench as Lambo was kneeling, staring dejectedly at Ipin, while tears streamed down his face.

"I-I'm s-s-so sor-hic-ry," the boy cried, his nose running. "I-I'll g-give you all-all of m-m-my candy a-and I'll, I'll l-let you, let you w-win…" He trailed off as he started hyperventilating.

Tsuna felt tears begin to well up in the corner of his eyes. He lifted one hand up to gently ruffle the top of Lambo's head, but that was all he could do. He couldn't say, "Stop crying, Lambo. Ipin will be fine. You don't want to be made fun of for being a crybaby when she wakes up, do you?" He couldn't tell Lambo that everything would be alright. He couldn't promise Lambo that Ipin will open her eyes again.

Because he wouldn't know how to face him if everything went wrong.

Distantly, he heard the sirens of an ambulance increase in volume with time, signaling the approach of the emergency vehicle. The sea of people immediately parted as the blaring red and white vehicle backed up at a ferocious speed.

Tsuna looked up as Gokudera and Yamamoto sprinted over with a stretcher. "Easy with the head," he instructed as they made movements to move her. "Unfortunately, she's suffering from head trauma and blood loss more than anything else from what I can see at the moment so we need to be gentle, but swift."

Such a difficult thing to do.

Gokudera and Yamamoto silently nodded, their faces grave as they lifted the girl and carefully packaged her away in the ambulance.

Yamamoto turned around. "Everything's been set up at the hospital," Yamamoto informed Tsuna as he quickly paced to the driver's seat. "Basil will fill you in when you get there. I have Chrome waiting with a room set up. Mukuro's on standby just in case as well."

"Thanks," Tsuna fervently murmured, his eyes shining with gratitude but also a seriousness that indicated that nothing was over yet. On the contrary, it was only the beginning.

"Who's riding?" Yamamoto asked as he threw himself behind the wheel. "Whoever it is, he or she better hurry up."

Tsuna froze. This entire time, he had forgotten about Fon. He whirled around only to find the man standing on the pavement with a horrified and dumbfounded look on his face. The brunette marched over and grabbed Fon's hand, noting how clammy it was. He dragged the hand and its owner to the back of the ambulance.

"Go," Tsuna softly whispered. He gave Fon a small push towards the back.

The small shove seemed to snap Fon out of his daze. He frantically shook his head. "It'd be better… if you went, Tsunayoshi," he said weakly. He stared hard into Tsuna's eyes, panic pulsing through every vessel and artery in his body. "You're a specialist… It'd be better for… Ipin… if you went."

The brunette doctor shook his head in complete disagreement. "There's only so much I can do in a moving vehicle, especially a speeding one considering how Yamamoto drives during an emergency. Besides," Tsuna leaned a little closer to Fon, appealing to him, "you're in no condition to drive to the hospital by yourself. Go." Tsuna shoved Fon a little harder.

Fon stumbled forward before straightening and giving Tsuna a strained smile. Tsuna shot a small smile back. The two stayed there for a moment, staring at each other and smiling. Until…

"Would whoever's coming hurry up?" Gokudera screeched as his hands expertly moved in the back of the ambulance.

Fon whispered something to Tsuna before settling himself right beside Ipin with surprising speed. The doors closed and the ambulance shot like a bullet to the hospital's emergency room.

Tsuna stood there for a second, staring after it, before he hoisted Lambo by the waist and threw him into his car. He reached over and buckled Lambo's seat belt for him and then buckled his own. Tsuna jammed the key into the ignition and twisted it. His eyes narrowed as he heard his car engine hum to life and pulled out of his parking place like a slingshot. The car speedometer tottered between 65 and 70 miles per hour as it trailed behind the ambulance.

"Tsuna's going to… save Ipin right?" asked Lambo, his voice small and frail.

Tsuna's hands clenched the steering wheel until they turned white. He couldn't make any promises that he couldn't keep. "I… honestly don't know if I can," Tsuna bitterly admitted. Grief, frustration, and regret tinged his voice. "But," his words gained edge as he solidified his will with a dying determination, "I'm going to do everything I possibly can." His jaw grew stiff and one hand grabbed his stick shift as he remembered what Fon had whispered before he left.

"Thank you."

He floored the gas pedal.

When Tsuna arrived at the hospital, he parked and once more picked Lambo up and rushed straight into the building. He found Basil patiently waiting for him at the glass entrance but didn't stop walking.

Basil easily matched Tsuna's stride and began talking rapidly, knowing the gravity of the situation. "She's with Mukuro right now so we'll know more once he's done patching her up and examining her, but it looks like a coma."

Tsuna grimaced at the information. He was afraid of that, but it was better than the alternative. Sighing, he instructed, "Run a CAT scan as soon as possible. I want to know what's going on in there. What's her ICP?"

Basil slightly winced as he quickly stated, "Pretty high. It went up to the low 30's by the time she got here."

Tsuna's stride grew quicker. "Right. Thank you, Basil. Would you take care of Lambo for me?"

"Of course."

Even though Tsuna practically threw Lambo at Basil's chest and swiftly entered the room Mukuro and Ipin were in, the small boy did not utter a single complaint. Lambo knew that Tsuna was in his best element and considering the seriousness of the situation he knew that complaining would do absolutely nothing to help. Instead, the boy stayed still in Basil's arms, overcome with despair as he realized how little he could do to help and how much of it was his fault.

Basil astutely sensed Lambo's distress. "Don't worry too much, little Lambo," he said kindly. "Tsuna's the best. If anyone can help Ipin, it's Tsuna without a doubt."

"I-I know that…" Lambo sniffed with snot running down his face. "Dame-Tsuna sucks at everything else. That's why he's so good at this."

Basil blinked in surprise before a warm smile erupted over his face. "Of course. Why don't we go over here? It's been a while since you've seen Dino and Ryohei, right?"

After Tsuna entered the room, he marched straight up to the monitors hooked up to Ipin and asked Mukuro without actually glancing at him, "What do you know so far?"

"Kufufu, no 'Good morning, Rokudo-sensei?' today?" Mukuro teased as he fluidly filled out papers in Ipin's folder. Mukuro flipped his long hair from his shoulder to his back with a noble jerk of his head, not unlike that of a stallion.

"Mukuro," Tsuna said with a hint of warning tinting his voice. He stared at the mischievous doctor with serious eyes. Today definitely wasn't a day for joking around.

Ah, Mukuro had seen those intriguing eyes before. They were different from his usually large, brown ones that screamed innocence. These eyes were sharper and a bright orange color to boot. The last time Mukuro had seen these eyes, he put a toe over the line trying to get to home base and Tsuna had shoved him all the way back to first.

Chuckling as he remembered how Tsuna had punched him for being insensitive to the parents of a child who had just died on another case, he handed Tsuna the file. "My dear Chrome is retrieving the CAT scans as we speak," Mukuro said softly, his mismatched eyes narrowing and becoming more businesslike. "I figured you would want the scans and so I had it done. Even without the CAT scans, though, I can tell you that this child has suffered some major brain damage; it's almost a miracle that she's even alive. Unfortunately, at the moment she's synonymous with a veggie."

"Mukuro!" Tsuna hissed at Mukuro's acrid persona, taking his eyes off of the words he had been reading while listening to Mukuro's speech. Mukuro put both of his gloved hands in the air in an innocent 'don't fire' gesture and shrugged.

"The truth is harsh, Tsunayoshi. You, of all people, should know that by now."

Two gentle knocks were heard before the door creaked open. Chrome nervously stood there with her eye patch, her hands holding a manila folder. "Th-The CAT scans, boss," she stuttered, holding out the folder for Tsuna to take.

"Thank you, Chrome," Tsuna said kindly with a weary smile as he took the folder. Tsuna walked up to a lighted panel on the wall and took out the images from the folder. He carefully, but dexterously, placed each of them on the panel and scrutinized them.

"We've got a lot of fluid," Tsuna muttered worriedly as he examined each scan thoroughly. "Thank you, you two. Mukuro, I know you have other patients, so you can return to them now. I'm sorry for taking so much of your time."

"Not at all, Tsunayoshi. If you need me once more, for any need, you know where to find me," Mukuro purred as he sauntered out of the room. The door clicked sharply as it closed.

Tsuna involuntarily shivered as he said, "Chrome, can you fetch Yamamoto please and ask him to watch over Ipin, especially her ICP levels?" His eyes never once stopped roaming over the black and white images before him.

Chrome nodded, making a mental note to reprimand Mukuro for his uncouth behavior. "Certainly." She too left. Almost seconds later, Yamamoto came in.

"What's up, Tsuna?" Yamamoto said, but it wasn't in his usually cheery tone. He walked over to where Tsuna was standing as he eyed the CAT scans.

"A coma is what's up, Yamamoto," Tsuna said sadly, dropping his head dejectedly. "I know that it's not impossible to wake up from a coma, but with this much damage and fluid, I'm afraid that she won't."

Yamamoto laid a hand on Tsuna's shoulder and Tsuna felt a wave of calm and gentleness wash over him. Somehow, Yamamoto always had this effect in critical situations and Tsuna was always glad to have him as one of his best friends. "Stay strong," Yamamoto advised with a quick smile. "The one who rode with Ipin needs you to stay strong too. Err, was his name Fon?"

Tsuna's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about Fon again! But Yamamoto was right, he needed to stay strong. Tsuna smiled at Yamamoto and nodded. "Where is Fon? There isn't much we can do right now for Ipin other than monitor her progress and intervene when necessary, so I'd better fill Fon in about his sister's condition."

The baseball fan smiled back, glad to see Tsuna back with a steady and level head. "He's in the F wing, room number 27."

"Thanks," was all Tsuna said as he left the room seeking the coffee shop owner.

As Tsuna approached the white door, he felt a little nervous. It was never easy telling someone that his or her beloved is comatose. Shaking his head, Tsuna shot down his fluttering butterflies in his stomach with deadly accuracy and gently rapped on the door three times before entering.

Fon immediately rose from the armchair he had been nestled in and approached Tsuna with frantic eyes.

Tsuna knew that the first thing Fon wanted to know was whether Ipin was alive or not, so he simply said, "She's alive."

A large sigh of relief left Fon's body for someplace else as Fon staggered back to his armchair and sank into it, closing his eyes. Tsuna silently followed and sat in the chair directly across from Fon. His eyes stayed trained on an old newspaper that was draped across a table wedged between the two armchairs and a sofa. Fon opened one eye to peek at Tsuna. There had to be more to Ipin's condition, seeing as how Tsuna wasn't enthusiastic about Ipin being alive. Bracing himself for bad news, he wearily prompted, "But…?"

Tsuna's face was passive as he answered and avoided Fon's inquisitive eyes. "Ipin is now in a coma."

Worried, Fon sat up straighter and his eyes implored Tsuna to divulge more information.

Tsuna nodded in silent understanding and professionally filled Fon in with the basics. "I'll have to warn you that comas aren't what you think they are if the only place you know them is from movies. The patient doesn't magically wake up all better and ready to take over the world in a couple days. It's a very long process that will usually take months, in some cases years. So Ipin is going to need a lot of time, but time isn't the only thing she's going to need in the future.

"Many coma cases also need the support of their loved ones." Tsuna eyed Fon seriously as he continued, "Usually the patient will respond to the voice or touch of someone he or she loves at certain stages. Talking to them, stimulating their senses by rubbing their hands, and frequent visits are very helpful. I'll let you know anything that happens as soon as I know, Fon," Tsuna added kindly.

The brunette haired doctor felt his heart clench as he watched Fon nod numbly and stare blankly at the floor. He couldn't count how many families he had seen react the same way and then abandon the hope of their loved one ever recovering. Tsuna didn't want Ipin to be one of those left behind. With warm eyes and a soft smile, Tsuna leaned over and grasped Fon's hand in support.

"I'm right here," Tsuna whispered softly.

Fon looked up and found himself drowning in Tsuna's embracing eyes. He felt his insecurities become insignificant and instead he felt himself become filled with hope for Ipin's recovery and determination to see it through. He gripped Tsuna's hand more tightly and smiled back before he knew it.

The tender moment was shattered as loud voices were heard arguing outside.

"Hey trash, you can't come marching this way!"

"Herbivores, move out of the way before we bite you to death."

"I'd like to see the two of you try."

Alarmed, Tsuna and Fon stood up and hurried outside to see what the commotion was about. Tsuna's jaw dropped open in shock once he recognized the culprits responsible for making a ruckus inside of the emergency ward of a children's hospital.

His old classmate, Hibari Kyouya, stood defiantly with his tonfas out. Murderous intent seeped from his steel-tinted eyes and his very aura reeked of power. Monstrously strong, Tsuna had lost count of the number of battles Hibari won on campus. At his side was his older brother, Alaude, who had his hands in his pockets and his legs spread about two feet apart from each other. Tsuna didn't have to see Alaude's hands to know that they were clutching a pair of handcuffs. The older brother gave a slight shake of his head to move a sliver of yellow bangs with hints of silver out of his field of sight.

Across from the dangerous duo were an equally dangerous Xanxus and Squalo. Squalo was dressed in pale green scrubs with small, yellow soap bubbles lathered around his arms all the way to his elbows. His long, silver hair was tied up in ponytail and twisted underneath a pale green cap that matched his scrubs. It seems that Squalo was just scrubbing in for surgery. Xanxus, on the other hand, had his white lab coat on with a stethoscope hanging limply around his neck. His right hand clutched a clipboard with a few ruffled papers pinned on it. He looked close to growling with his face savagely twisted in rage as he eyed the two intruders.

"Voi! What the hell do you guys think you're doing down here with those?" Squalo shouted rather loudly, small flecks of soapy water dripping from his arms and onto the pristine white tiles. Well, the tiles weren't so pristine now.

"We asked you to move aside politely," Alaude responded coldly, eyeing Squalo with evident distaste. "We're looking for our sister. If you won't move aside, we won't be as polite."

"There's a receptionist for that, scumbags," Xanxus retorted with dislike. His muscles were involuntarily flexing as he felt the thrill of a possible fight.

"That useless herbivore wouldn't answer when we asked," Hibari said, tightening his grip on his weapons. His sharp eyes perceived the almost unperceivable shift in Xanxus's physique and demeanor. If it was a fight Xanxus wanted, then Hibari would only be too glad to grant the doctor's wish.

Squalo snorted derisively at Hibari's response. "The two of you probably scared her so much she couldn't answer."

Tsuna turned pale as the tension increased and invisible streams of electricity crackled through the air. In order to prevent a very possible fight from occurring, which would mean the complete obliteration of the F Wing, Tsuna hurled himself between the two parties and hollered, "Stop!"

Everyone blinked owlishly as they stared at the significantly shorter doctor that stood in the center with his arms outstretched.

"This is a hospital," Tsuna said evenly, his eyes taking on that orange shaded glaze once more. "Fighting is not condoned in these hallways." He glanced at Xanxus and Squalo. "I know you have a very long history with these two, but both of you had better proceed with the surgery on Fran before Belphegor gets another bright idea." The two grunted in acquiescence and shuffled away, but not before shooting dirty looks at the group.

Tsuna sighed in relief as they left without a scuffle. He turned to face Alaude and Hibari. "What were you thinking, Hibari-san?" Tsuna scolded, putting his hands on his hips. "This isn't a gang warehouse that you can bust. Put those things away." He motioned at the tonfas Hibari still had out. "And let go of those," Tsuna added, implying Alaude's handcuffs.

Both Hibari and Alaude scowled heavily but otherwise did as they were told. "How is our sister?" Hibari asked, glowering.

"Alive," Fon said quietly from the doorframe, "but in a coma."

Alaude's jaw tightened, but the stoic man otherwise could have been mistaken for a very life-like statue.

Hibari glanced at Fon for a second before addressing Tsuna. "Sawada Tsunayoshi, what do you plan to do?"

Once again, Tsuna sighed, only this time more wearily. "If you would all step inside, I'll explain further. I was in the middle of consulting Fon when you guys-"

Alaude interrupted. "Do whatever needs to be done, Dr. Sawada. Money is not an issue."

The brunette blinked in surprise at being interrupted before he smiled warmly after registering Alaude's words. Despite his indifferent and cold exterior, Alaude really did care. "Ipin is lucky to have so many people that care about her."

A very faint pink dusted Alaude's face for microseconds before it receded.

"TSUNA!" a worried Yamamoto shouted as he barreled down the corridor towards Tsuna. He ignored the disapproving looks he received from the other few staff members that sparsely littered the long corridor.

Tsuna spun around on his heels to face Yamamoto, who was panting. He quickly approached the tired baseball fan and urgently asked, "What happened?"

"Ipin's…. ICP… significantly increased… oxygen…" Yamamoto huffed out as he clutched the wall for support and sucked in mouthfuls of air to continue his fragmented report. "Gokudera's… monitoring…"

"Oh no…" Tsuna muttered, his brow furrowing together as they made sense of Yamamoto's sparse words. "Why didn't you page me?" he asked, confused. People didn't run around like they used to for messages because of the invention of the pager and cell phone.

"Forgot… home…" Yamamoto panted.

"Oh," Tsuna said, realizing that Yamamoto had forgotten his pager at home. "Enma, will you please educate Hibari and Alaude about comas?" he asked without turning around.

"Okay…" a red-haired doctor drawled as he motioned the two to come inside before entering without waiting for them to follow.

Everyone jumped in complete surprise. Where had he come from and how long had he been there?

"Thank you," Tsuna said as he began a quick trot towards Ipin's room. "Fon, with me," he barked without stopping his relentless pace.

Fon nodded in response and followed. It only took a couple of strides for him to catch up to the brunette as his legs were longer. "I've been meaning to ask: what does ICP mean?" Fon questioned as they passed many white doors and people. He had been hearing the term thrown around quite a bit in different conversations, but had absolutely no idea what it stood for.

"It's short for 'intracranial pressure,'" Tsuna tersely replied, his white coat billowing behind him due to his quick pace. "As the name suggests, it's an indicator for the amount of pressure present inside the cranium. Normally, it's around the low twenties, but Ipin's has skyrocketed into the mid to high thirties, which I would conclude is due to swelling, especially judging from Yamamoto's panicked reaction."

"What, specifically, does a high ICP value mean for Ipin?" Fon quietly asked.

Tsuna answered without missing a beat. "It means that the swelling has gotten so bad that it's cutting off the brain's oxygen pathways. Without oxygen, the brain will starve and be unable to function properly. There could be permanent damage if we don't intervene soon."

Fon's eyes widened in shock at the answer. That means…

The brunette doctor abruptly came to a stop. "It'd probably be better if you waited out here." Tsuna said curtly, but squeezed Fon's hand in a reassuring manner before entering the room in which Ipin resided. He didn't mean to sound so cold-hearted, but he wanted to focus all of his attention to Ipin.

Slowly, Fon walked to the glass window through which he could see his little sister, and brought both of his hands up to the glass. He closed his eyes and stood there for a long time.

Tsuna marched into the room and nodded at Gokudera. "Let's get some fluid in there; we need to force open some of those oxygen routes." He stepped towards a white table in a corner and grabbed some white gloves.

"You got it," Gokudera said gruffly, already reaching for the necessary tools.

The room was silent except for the beeping of the machines and the movements of the two men working inside. Tsuna kept one eye on Ipin's chart as his hand fluidly scribbled note after note, and another on the ICP gauge. A few tense minutes passed before the numbers on the ICP gauge began to decrease a little.

Relief swamped Tsuna's face before dissipating. The war was far from over. "Please take her temperature and pulse," he ordered Gokudera softly. As he turned to adjust the IV drip, Tsuna caught sight of Fon and his heart painfully throbbed. Fon looked so gracefully broken that Tsuna wanted to stop and weep. The brunette gazed at Fon's closed eyes and the sadness that radiated from his profile.

Without a word, Tsuna returned outside.

Gokudera looked up briefly from his work. "They'd better be happy together, or else someone's getting a surprise when he wakes up…"

Tsuna stopped beside Fon and stared at his face before speaking. His heart panged as he saw the handsome face twisted in agonized sadness. If Tsuna was an artist, he would pour his soul into recreating a portrait and then probably die from grief himself.

"Hey…" the brunette muttered softly. When Fon took no notice of his greeting, Tsuna scowled and said a little louder, "Hey, you!" Fon lifted his head and stared at Tsuna, slightly surprised. "Yeah you, the one that looks like a drowning puppy!" Fon stood up straighter and looked completely bewildered at Tsuna's strangely aggressive tone, which was totally uncharacteristic of the normally bashful young man.

"Yes…?" the dark haired man inquired uncertainly.

"You can't just look like you've given up hope already!" Tsuna spluttered hastily, his relatively loud tone attracting the attention of other nurses and doctors in the corridor. "You don't see me falling to pieces, do you? I know that it feels like the end of the world, but just sitting there, agonizing over your situation doesn't do you any good, and it certainly won't do her any good," Tsuna announced brusquely, jabbing his thumb towards the window. He hesitated with his next words, completely aware of the scene he was making and how rude he must appear to be. "What I'm really trying to say is… get yourself together man. You're not alone now and you won't be alone in the future." Tsuna took a step closer to Fon and stared up at the taller man. "I'm here…" he whispered.

Fon smiled gently and radiantly at the person standing in front of him. The person standing in front of him, with his tussled, brown hair and quirky mannerisms was the person he loved. Fon immediately recognized Tsuna's genuine attempt to prevent his breakdown.

The taller man's smile was infectious and soon Tsuna found himself smiling, albeit a little hesitantly, back. What Fon did next, however completely took Tsuna by surprise.

Fon wrapped his left arm around Tsuna's back and pulled the shorter brunette doctor closer. His right lifted Tsuna's chin and Fon swooped down to kiss Tsuna.

Tsuna's eyes widened instantly as he felt Fon's lips pressed securely against his own. A large blossom of red slowly worked itself throughout Tsuna's cheeks as he shyly reciprocated the sudden kiss. It took a while for Tsuna to remember that he could breathe through his nose as his arms reached up to hang around Fon's neck.

Cheers and catcalls erupted in the corridor and those present witnessed Namimori's finest brain trauma doctor finally happily in love.

Once the applause started, Tsuna broke the kiss, extremely embarrassed. He tried to escape from Fon's arm, but found it impossible as the arm seemed to be made out of steel.

"F-Fon! This is embarrassing! They're my coworkers!" the brunette hissed, squirming in Fon's grip. He was quite flexible, but that didn't seem to be helping him escape his rather trapped situation.

Fon raised an eyebrow and smirked. At that moment, Tsuna began to fidget nervously as he noticed the striking resemblance Fon had to Hibari Kyouya…

When he found prey.

"Tsunayoshi," Fon whispered into Tsuna's ear, making the brunette blush even harder as he felt warm air tickle his auditory cavern. "I don't think you've spent enough time around any Hibari if you don't know that we don't always listen to others. I don't care and I'm not letting you go anytime soon. I love you, Tsuna."

"I love you too, Fon," Tsuna said without wavering, even though he was blushing like a teenage girl in love. He flinched heavily as the hallway continued to make raucous noise.

Oh boy. It looks like I know what the interns are going to be talking about around the water cooler…

1 month later…

Tsuna peered studiously into Ipin's wide open eyes with a flashlight. He leaned back after a couple seconds, pleased, as he failed to find any traces of dilation in the pupils.

"Her eyes are open, and I know that you're concerned about her not being able to recognize or even respond," Tsuna said, addressing the entire Hibari family inside of Ipin's hospital room. "But, the fact that her eyes are open and that her pupils aren't dilated are good signs." He smiled encouragingly at the group.

Fon nodded with a small smile and walked over to embrace Tsuna.

Alaude and Kyouya rolled their eyes and left after giving Tsuna a curt nod. However, Tsuna could tell that they were definitely heartened by the news.

1 month later…

"Okay, follow the light please, Ipin," Tsuna asked kindly as he held his flashlight and moved it horizontally left and right, while hoping that the small child would be able to follow the movement. He sprouted a huge, goofy smile as her eyes traced the light's movement across and then up and down. The brunette issued a couple of other simple commands and was ecstatic when Ipin was able to follow them all.

He stepped outside after issuing some orders to the nearby nurses. And then he made a phone call, updating Fon with Ipin's status.

2 weeks later…

"Gokudera, Yamamoto, we can remove the tube," Tsuna informed them happily as the three were checking over Ipin again. "Her lungs are functioning and they can provide Ipin with oxygen without support."

His two best friends looked overjoyed with the news and hastily proceeded to remove the mouth tube that enabled Ipin to breathe while she was unconscious. Even though they didn't know Ipin, Gokudera and Yamamoto felt close to the child already. Cases like this were extremely trying on their emotions, and they always hoped for the best to happen.

"Hello, Ipin," Tsuna said softly, leaning over the bed after Yamamoto and Gokudera had removed the piece of plastic tubing. "Do you remember who I am?"

For a second, it seemed that Ipin wouldn't respond. But then she croaked out a hoarse name:

"…Tsuna…"

3 months later…

Tsuna smiled as he walked down the street and entered a pair of revolving glass doors. He had just arrived at the Kokuyo Rehabilitation Center, which was founded by Rokudo Mukuro. He smiled at the two receptionists and made his way to the elevator, impatiently jabbing at the up button. The brunette couldn't wait to see how far Ipin's condition had improved.

He entered the elevator and played with the hem of his shirt as he waited to arrive at the fourth floor. The doors opened and Tsuna sighed with relief as he walked briskly to Ipin's room. He grinned as he saw Ipin with Fon and her trainer.

Fon watched her carefully, ready to catch Ipin at a moment's notice if she so much as swayed. Ipin was walking unsteadily with a small walking cane and braces were wrapped securely around her legs to help support her body weight. Being in a coma, her muscles naturally underwent muscular dystrophy as they weren't being used. Now, she was in a rehabilitation center that would help her rebuild her muscles and help her with hand-eye coordination, as well as balance.

Ipin spotted Tsuna at the door and looked overjoyed. She immediately began to hobble over to him. "Tsuna!" she exclaimed happily, as she hugged his leg. Fon also spotted Tsuna and smiled lovingly.

"She's making steady progress," Fon said, glancing with pride at Ipin.

"Of course she is," Tsuna readily agreed, with a light teasing tone. "She is a Hibari after all. What would take someone six months to achieve she's already done in three." Tsuna shook his head, honestly amazed at how far Ipin had come.

Fon merely smiled and moved closer to touch noses with Tsuna.

Fon and Tsuna smiled as Ipin got out of the car by herself and walked to the front door of Fon's home. She had been declared fit to go home by the Kokuyo Rehabilitation Center's specialists, Ken and Chikusa.

"Ipin," Tsuna called, walking to the front door with Fon's hand clasped in his. "There's someone here to visit you."

Ipin looked up curiously. "Who?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side in wonder.

Fon's eyes twinkled mysteriously. "You'll find out after you go through the door."

Without further prompting, Ipin clutched at the doorknob and entered the house. She wasn't prepared, however, when a sobbing mass of hair and boogers had her in a vice-grip hug.

Lambo wailed and sobbed further into Ipin's shoulder. He cried about how sorry he was and about how he thought she was going to die. He said he would share his secret stash of candy that he had hidden from Reborn and Mama, a statement to which Tsuna looked indignant. Lambo cried so much that soon he was out of tears and could only dry sob.

Ipin gingerly pat Lambo on the head and said, "It's okay. I forgive Lambo. Does Lambo want to play with me again?"

There was a moment of silence, in which Lambo sniffed, before Lambo nodded in the affirmative.

"Okay!" Ipin exclaimed excitedly as she dragged Lambo towards the kitchen. "Lambo needs tissues and Ipin's hungry."

Fon smiled and asked the girl, "What do you want to eat?"

Ipin looked over at her older brother and grinned. Her response left Fon a little dumbfounded, but extremely pleased. Tsuna hugged Fon and they couldn't help but feel happy and feel that all was going to be well.

"Ipin wants broccoli!"

And that's a wrap folks! What happened at the car accident (with regards to Tsuna's account of the accident) may be differnet for other people. That's just my personal experience with a car crash I've been in. I could make out all sorts of detail right before the impact, but it wasn't in slow motion.

I really enjoyed Lambo in this story. I used to think that he was an inappropriate Guardian, given his age and... maturity level. However, after his fight with Rauji in the Shimon arc, I've really come to see him in a different light. Kudos, little cow dude.

I know that this is a one shot, but somehow the plot seems rather condensed. But I didn't want to keep this sitting in my crowded document folders without uploading it, so here it is. :)